Well-known philatelic writer Ken Lawrence has received the American First Day Cover Society's Philip H. Ward Award for excellence in writing about first day covers. His American Philatelist article, "Which Items Franked with 1913 Parcel Post Stamps Are Authentic U.S. First Day Covers?” in the August 2019 issue, was the unanimous choice of the judges for the 2019 calendar year.

The article also received the 2019 Barbara Mueller Award sponsored by the U.S. Stamp Society for the best article published that year in American Philatelist.

The first runner-up was Ralph Nafziger, for "Wisconsin Tercentenary Issue" in the May-June issue of First Days, the official journal of the AFDCS. Anthony Dewey was second runner-up, for "On the Trail of Grant and Lyon" in the March-April of First Days.

The award is named in honor of Philip H. Ward (1890-1963), the distinguished Philadelphia stamp collector, dealer and journalist who was a pioneer in the field of first day covers. The award was instituted by the AFDCS in 1964. All articles appearing in First Days are automatically considered for the award; articles in other publications may be submitted for consideration.

This is the third time Lawrence has received the Ward Award. In 1989, he was one of five authors contributing to a symposium on FDCs in The United States Specialist. He also was honored for his 1996 three-part series "First Day Covers in Earliest Usages," which also was published in American Philatelist. His monograph First Day Covers of 1918 Air Post Stamps — Or Are They? was published by the AFDCS in 2018, and is available for sale in the Marketplace/Handbooks section.